


Child of Light

by meteorshowermei



Category: Original Work
Genre: Original Fiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-22
Updated: 2015-07-22
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:00:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27743383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meteorshowermei/pseuds/meteorshowermei
Summary: to all those wandering lost in the darkmay you be visited by a sparkthis is something i wrote when i was like 15 lol enjoy i guess





	1. Chapter 1

Overlooking the brick path overridden by vines and microscopic clover patches stood a pedestal carefully carved from the most expensive ivory carefully supporting my hollow feet. An elaborate arbor led the stone path away from the statue grove and towards a tiny cottage hidden among an array of deciduous trees dotted with rose patches and fairy lamps strung on twine and wrapped around nearby shrubs barely supporting the lanterns' weight.

Dainty footprints lined the grass pathways dancing between rows of Peruvian lilies and carnations. Delicate baby's breath bushes whistled as the branches swayed in the light breeze. From the pearl white pavilion, I could hear the distant chatter lost in the wind near the cottage. Tables were set up under tents by the men as women with skin as pale as the orchids tittered to each other in striking silk skirts under parasols. Aromas of freshly baked cakes and pastries wafted across the veiled garden. Loud chatter and laughter traveled from the children's play area just past the grove of apples trees on the other side of the bower.

Peeking out carefully from behind my thin stone fingers, I held back a smile watching the children screaming playfully watching each other cartwheel through the luminous sunbeams peeping through the foliage. Another successful party thrown by the proprietors of the old estate, the Vale family, time would only tell as everything was put into place. The crowd was growing and the sun still shone and everything seemed to be in favor of the gathering's success, but it hadn't yet begun.


	2. Hollis POV

"Such a lovely little group," my mother crowed, leading me towards the group of kids with a firm grip.

My newly polished shoes scraped against the uneven stone path swathed in moss as I struggled. Too late, the kids all turned around to catch my defiant scowl not matching my ruffled yellow silk skirts and long red curls. Just as my mother had yanked me from my carriage seat, though, I had snatched my gold paper crown and frail satin fairy wings, ripped sections of cloth barely hanging onto a set of feeble wires.

"Now play nice with the other children," my mother smiled down on the rest of the group, giving me a quick glare before snapping open her own lace parasol and storming off to join the other young maids.

Turning back to the other's I folded my arms the moment I saw I was the youngest, all of the rest seeming about 8 to 10. I hunched my shoulders, scowling even harder as one of the older boys dressed in a waistcoat and cap pulled low over his dark eyes.

"What are you, like three?" he kicked my shin testably, sneering down his long nose.

"Five," I snapped back, ignoring my mother's previous sharp scolding in the back of my head. "Why, how old are you?"

"She's a feisty one," the boy affirmed, crouching down to get at my height, which had to have been half of his own. "We could use a feisty girl on our team."

One of the other boys waiting at the front of the group shook his head. "Better not, Charles."

"Hush up!"

"She's one of the Linderson's kids, I said don't do it."

Charles waved back his friend, peering into my eyes. "Linderson, huh? Tell me your name, squirt."

"Hollis," I replied, raising my chin. "Hollis Linderson. And my father will have your dippy head if you don't back off." I wasn't exactly sure where all my spunk had came from, but it sure seemed to help. Continuing to build my new rep, I watched them all step back in shock as I offered a quick smirk.

"Well Hollis Linderson," Charles broke in. "How about you join us in a game of hide and seek?"

The same boy from earlier shoved in a last time with a steady glare, grabbing a hold on Charles' wide shoulders, shaking his head. "Charles, she's a little young..."

"Clarence, just trust me." Charles chided. "I'll just have to lay down a few rules, with a younger one on the team." Something sparked in his eyes as he saw my triumphant scoff falter.

I was dragged around the arbor and through a carefully trimmed hedge before reaching the neighbor's estate; a miniscule and dull strip of land in comparison to the Vale's. Crouching under a Weigela patch, Clarence, Charles, and a small group of daring onlookers surrounded me before I could realize what was happening.

"So, Holly-" Charles began.

"Hollis."

"Whatever," he waved it off, grinning at the rest of the group. "You see that shed over there?" I followed his gaze, resting on a gardening shed just feet away from an immaculate stone bungalow finished with a brick well and surrounded with fragrant gardenias.

"Yeah, so?"

"So, there's a baseball right on the other side of the shed." He replied. "Oh-so-brilliant Charlotte knocked it over earlier, and we need it back before the Breecher's return."

I rolled my eyes. "Then why don't you just go get it, punk?"

"Because," he began. "You see that party over there? It's a nice little get together ain't it? Well turns out the Vale's have invited every family who's considered a somebody in this town, all except for the Breechers. They're more than a little miffed about it, and are keeping tabs on all the kids and families who've attended. We've knocked the ball over more than once today, and you're the only schmuck who they won't recognize, so get over the fence."

I held my ground. "Where is this Breecher family?"

"Still in their precious little estate," Clarence snorted, all of a sudden on Charles' side. "They never leave, and the rest of the district doesn't exactly blame them." He looked down his nose and crouched at my side. "You're not from around here, are you?"

Glancing down at my twitching feet, I was determined to keep my mysterious reputation and shrugged. "Seems like it, doesn't it. What's with all the questions?"

"You're all wasting air," Charles snapped, smacking his friend lightly with his cap, revealing a mop of black curls and a spray of freckles across his cheeks. "Now are you gonna get the ball or not?!"

"You seem to leave me no choice, either way, but that doesn't mean I'm going with no final cut. You get your ball, free of cost, making a lady go do your dirty work for you, which hardly seems fair. What's in it for me?" Raising my chin, I glared into his emerald eyes, daring him to speak.

Sharing a look with the rest of the huddle, itching for a show, Charles nodded. "You can get a little bouquet from my father, the owner of the flower shop downtown. Seems fair enough; I get my ball, and you get a little set of flowers to go along with your little tea set, free of charge, dear little lady."

I met his eyes, faltering at his laugh, but unwilling to back down. "Well, I guess walking across a stupid lawn to fetch a baseball wouldn't hurt. Even a little lady could manage that." Giving a quick, swift boot to the boy's shin, I flounced to the rusty old gate with a hint of a smirk dancing across my lips before he had the chance to yell, feeling a triumphant pound in my chest as I slipped through the bars.


End file.
